This Music Video Lets You Click To Buy Everything They're Wearing

Ever watch a music vid, and wonder where you could get the look your favorite star is rocking on screen? If SSENSE‘s approach here takes off, that would be a matter of just clicking the screen.

The Canadian clothing retailer partnered with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, hip-hop duo FKi, and producer Diplo for a new music video that turns viewers into shoppers. Available on its website, the vid for the song “I Think She Ready” was styled by SSENSE and features an overlay of “S” icons that — when moused over — turns into clickable “Shop This Look” tags. To see a list of every high-priced item the artist is wearing and how to get them, just hit the tag.

According to SSENSE CEO Rami Atallah, “People often wonder what performers are wearing, where they can purchase that item – we have bridged that gap.” It’s not a bad concept, and it does accomplish that task (though with brands like Phillip Lim, Alexander McQueen, and Givenchy, you’d have to be dripping with cash to afford them). So the idea is sound. Sadly, the execution is anything but.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, with all due respect to tech developer wireWAX, I just don’t like this form of product placement. In fact, I can’t stand it. This approach is incredibly intrusive, with hard-to-ignore icons that sit on people’s chins and full-stop pauses whenever you click on anything. And it does no justice to the artists either — this makes talented rappers come off like nothing more than product pitchmen. Now that’s kind of sad. The worst part is that you can’t turn off the shopping feature. If you want to see the video, you’re forced to put up with the little violators.

I never thought anything could make me long for commercials, but at least with those, it’s clear which part is content and which part is advertisement. It’s a separate function that I can either tune out or enjoy, if the ad is good — unlike this annoying mash-up.

To see it for yourself, check out the vid below, and tell us what you think. Is tech like this a cool, useful tool or just another annoying way to shove ads in our faces?